10 Children Who Were Raised By Animals

You might not have come across children who were raised by animals but they actually do exist. These children are termed as “Feral Children”. The science behind these kids is that they are isolated from the very beginning. They grow up in wild environments, hence wild animals take care of them.

Also, there are a few parents who abandon their kids at a very young age. A few of such kids are also raised by animals. So, when animals raise human kids, they tend to copy the same habits. How interesting!

Let’s have a closer look at 10 of the children who were raised by animals and I bet they were raised very nicely! Here we go!

Marina Chapman – Sold, Abandoned, and Raised by Monkeys

Marina Chapman is a popular author who lives in Bradford, England. Her life is so incredible that when she wrote an autobiography, most of the publishers refused to publish it. Well, the main reason behind publishers refusing to publish was that they thought that her story is a mere lie!

Marina, in her childhood, was kidnapped. Later, she was abandoned in a Columbian jungle where she was adopted by capuchin monkeys. Capuchin monkeys are known to accept human children with all love and adulation.

These capuchin monkeys taught Marina how to catch birds with bare hands so that she can survive in the jungle. She spent a good period of time with animals and understood their linguistics really well.

Ostrich Boy – Cared for by Birds

The story of Sidi Mohamed, the ostrich boy, is a highly unique one. He, himself narrated his story in 1945. At the age of 5 or 6, Sidi Mohamed got separated from his family in North Africa. He ended up in an ostrich’s nest where the chicks were hatching. Plus, he befriended the parent ostriches.

He was taken care of by the ostriches who taught him how to run swiftly. Plus, the ostriches gave him a shelter by spreading a wing all over him. However, at the age of 12, the ostrich hunters caught the boy and he was thus reunited with his family.

Later, he got married and had children. But, his childhood had been an extraordinary one where he was protected by ostriches and was never hurt!

A Toddler Kept Alive by Cats

Argentinian police found a 1-year-old boy who was surrounded by 8 cats. The police also observed that when they came closer to the boy, the cats became a lot more aggressive and possessive. Also, it was found out that cats took care of the boy by licking him and sheltering him by being around him during the harsh winter.

Apart from that, the cats brought scraps of food for the child and didn’t eat from them. The child was showered with immense love and was adored by cats just like a mother.

The cats looked after the child for several days and never there was a day when the kid felt helpless or ignored. The incident took place in the year 2008.

Now, this lesson tells us a lot about the cat’s affection with us, human beings. So, don’t you think that the killing of feral cats is totally wrong!

The Dog Boy from Chile

The story of the ‘Dog Boy’ is definitely worth listening to. The boy has now turned 24 years old who was abandoned by his mother at probably 11 or 12 years of age. Her mother was 16 years old at that time. So, the boy was rescued by dogs living in a cave close to a Chilean port.

The boy became a part of their family. He sucked milk from a bitch in the pack, ate food with them, and stayed with them all the time. He became a very integral part of the dog pack and became similar to what dogs are!

When the policemen caught him, he tried to run away in a bid to reunite with dogs. He was very aggressive and matched the habits of the dogs such as barking and being aggressive.

He passionately wanted to reunite with his canine family! It’s really saddening to comprehend whether the police did the right thing to separate him from the pack of dogs!

Ng Chhaidy – 38 Years Living in the Jungle

Ng Chhaidy went missing in the jungle when she was just 4 years of age and was seen after many years when she was 38. Nearby communities heard a lot of stuff related to the jungle girl but they ignored it all the time, terming it as a rumor.

She went missing in India, close to the border with Myanmar, and was later found in Myanmar. She was found in very bad shape, lying naked in a cemetery.

However, she is quite similar to all humans. You might think that after living a huge chunk of her life in the jungle, she might not know anything about humans. Nonetheless, she is able to interact with humans without any difficulty and also shows the will to learn new words.

Her family has not asked for any medical intervention. So, we are unaware of her current state.

Lyokha- The Wolf Boy of Moscow

In 2007, the Russian authorities caught a boy who had been living with wolves. His age was not confirmed. Nonetheless, it was said that he might be of 10 years of age. When he was rescued, he had no knowledge about the Russian language and exhibited wolf-like habits.

A few villagers found him wrapped in a lair of leaves in harsh, cold winters, near Moscow. The authorities caught him, gave him a shower, changed his clothes, and cut his nails.

However, the boy ran away within 24 hours and now no one actually knows about his whereabouts.

Andrei Tolstyk – Raised by a Guard Dog

Andrei Tolstyk was born with hearing and speaking deficiencies. His deficiencies made the parents abandon him in a nearby region of Siberia that was close to Lake Baikal. Nonetheless, he was rescued by a guard dog who pampered him more than his parents could ever do!

So, as he was looked after a dog, he inculcated habits like sniffing food and staying away from humans. He used to behave quite erratically and managed to grow strong teeth.

It finally took him two weeks before he began to walk on two legs.

Saturday Mthiyane – A Monkey More Than a Man

In 1987, a boy, aged 5 years was found to spend a great life in the company of monkeys in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. As the boy turned 17 years of age, he still followed the antics of monkeys and behaved quite similarly to them!

He was totally unaware of human interaction, never liked the cooked food, and didn’t admire the company of children. He still had great love with monkeys and wanted to stay with them.

Monkeys tend to love humans and they also are quite similar to us. So, it might have been a better choice to leave the boy with animals.

The Baby Hospital – Again, More Monkey Than Man

Yes, the girl was named Baby Hospital. She was 7 years of age when she was found by an Italian missionary in Sierra Leone. Apparently, she was brought up by monkeys or apes. Hence, she was never able to interact with human beings and rejected the idea of staying with humans as she continued to act like monkeys.

She didn’t mingle well with humans and kept on crying as she might want to reunite with monkeys.

So, in my opinion, it might have been a better idea to integrate her with monkeys only! I wish!

Ivan Mishukov – The 6-Year-Old Alpha Dog

Ivan Mishukov who was born in 1992, lived with dogs between the age of 4 and 6 years old. He ran away from home because of his alcoholic mother and her abusive boyfriend. As he ran away, he got into the pack of dogs. He somehow managed to bring food to the dogs and hence earned their trust. Eventually, he was made the leader of the pack.

However, he was captured 3 times by the policemen but he used to run away every time. Nonetheless, finally, he was caught through a planned strategy and learned a lot about language fairly quickly.

But, the boy never felt good among human society as he was always loved and looked after by dogs. So, he had a very difficult time, coping in human society. He ate with dogs, followed them always, and created his own family with dogs.

Basically, the dogs played a strong role in developing him and making him civilized.

The Bottom Line

So, here we have come to an end of the list where we showed you 10 of the amazing human beings that were looked after by animals. Such cases are rare but are totally heartwarming when we listen and dig deep into it! Do let us know what you think about our list!